Panamoz Import Duties?

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thequietman

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Looking to purchase another Nikon D850 Panamoz look quite well priced are they based in Hong Kong? any problems I should be looking for just wondering if anyone has bought anything from them lately and incurred any import duties..Thanks.
 
I bought an £850 from them a few weeks ago for £1900.00 with no extra charges. Before I ordered I asked them and they said if there were any unexpected charges they would cover them.
 
If I hadn't just bought one I'd have it. I was looking for a used one for about eighteen months, but prices were stupid which was why I went for grey.
 
Currently waiting on my R6 which is on its way to their UK warehouse. Not expecting any import fees. Their communication before I ordered was excellent. Will report back when it's in DPDs hands in the UK and been delivered.
 
Bought a Sony 35mm 1.4 from them last Monday and it's current taunting me in a van nearby.

Excellent communication and fast delivery with constant updates. Cameras seem to be far better value than lenses, although that could just be the selection I'm looking at.
 
thequietman said:
Looking to purchase another Nikon D850 Panamoz look quite well priced are they based in Hong Kong? any problems I should be looking for just wondering if anyone has bought anything from them lately and incurred any import duties..Thanks.
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There is no extra fee to pay they lie on the declaration form and send as toy parts well under the import duty threshold.
 
f/2.8 said:
There is no extra fee to pay they lie on the declaration form and send as toy parts well under the import duty threshold.
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I don't think that's very plausible with the volumes they send out and they are correctly labelled with information about batteries etc.

Bought an A7Siii a couple of weeks back it was here in four working days no extra charges.
 
As mentioned - they deliver it to a UK warehouse, then send it from there using DPD. I guess that's why there's no import duties.
 
Trying to look at import tariffs it looks to me as if the only import tariff imposed on cameras these days is VAT (might have been looking at the wrong code). They also don't have to pay import fees into Hong Kong so maybe they can be fairly flexible with where they source their stock to remain competitive. The prices are fairly similar to buying in the US so it might be that they can absorb the 20% VAT and still have a healthy margin. They did say with my order that to offer me the price they would use a slightly slower shipping method so I imagine margins are fairly tight and it's all about volume.
 
4wd said:
I don't think that's very plausible with the volumes they send out and they are correctly labelled with information about batteries etc.

Bought an A7Siii a couple of weeks back it was here in four working days no extra charges.
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I have a copy of the customs declaration from Panamoz for a value of £18.70 listed as toy parts for a lens at £1400.
 
I bought my Nikon D750 from Panamoz in June of last year. Saved myself quite a bit of dosh! Didn't have to pay import duty either. No problems whatsoever with the transaction, and more than happy with the camera.
Though classed as a 'grey import' therefore not covered by Nikon's guarantee, I believe I'm right in saying that Panamoz would cover any costs of fixing a fault normally covered by Nikon's guarantee. Can't fault this company and would happily buy from them again. :giggle:
 
So I seem to have a mixed bag of dealings here with Panamoz..I do however like the 3 year guarantee and the price..however I do wonder whether it's worth the paper it's written on and is another story..maybe just buy here in the UK for the piece of mind..wouldn't like to be shooting mr and mrs o'reilly's wedding and customs and excise rock up and confiscate my shiny new D850 until the duty's paid on it..I believe they can go back 6 years with interest..I do wonder if anyone has had to stump up the duty and Panamoz have actually reimbursed them..thanks for all your input..as the saying goes if it's too good to be true it probably is..
 
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thequietman said:
So I seem to have a mixed bag of dealings here with Panamoz..I do however like the 3 year guarantee and the price..however I do wonder whether it's worth the paper it's written on and is another story..maybe just buy here in the UK for the piece of mind..wouldn't like to be shooting mr and mrs o'reilly's wedding and customs and excise rock up and confiscate my shiny new D850 until the duty's paid on it..I beleive they can go back 6 years with interest..I do wonder if anyone has had to stump up the duty and Panamoz have actually reimbursed them..thanks for all your input..as the saying goes if it's too good to be true it probably is..
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Do they have a physical presence/office/registered company etc.. in the UK or is everything done from HK?
 
thequietman said:
So I seem to have a mixed bag of dealings here with Panamoz..I do however like the 3 year guarantee and the price..however I do wonder whether it's worth the paper it's written on and is another story..maybe just buy here in the UK for the piece of mind..wouldn't like to be shooting mr and mrs o'reilly's wedding and customs and excise rock up and confiscate my shiny new D850 until the duty's paid on it..I beleive they can go back 6 years with interest..I do wonder if anyone has had to stump up the duty and Panamoz have actually reimbursed them..thanks for all your input..as the saying goes if it's too good to be true it probably is..
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I don't think I've read anything negative on here, DPReview or Trustpilot about Panamoz. I guess I will find out tomorrow as DPD have my order in hand.

THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
Do they have a physical presence/office/registered company etc.. in the UK or is everything done from HK?
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They have a UK Office in Brighton.
 
When you get your item from Panamoz or most of the other mainstream grey dealers you can just register for the warranty same as any other retailer so far as I could see - at least with Sony.
I mostly buy from WEX these days but when they don't have what you want in stock plus their price is nearly £1000 more it's worthwhile even if some extra charge popped up (it won't)
 
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4wd said:
When you get your item from Panamoz or most of the other mainstream grey dealers you can just register for the warranty same as any other retailer so far as I could see - at least with Sony.
I mostly buy from WEX these days but when they don't have what you want in stock plus their price is nearly £1000 more it's worthwhile even if some extra charge popped up (it won't)
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As far as I’m aware you can register any camera/lens (all may lenses and camera are registered to Sony but only one lens was covered by warranty as bought from WEX) but to make a warranty claim you need a valid receipt. I’ve always used the manufactures register process even for used kit but as a means to keep model numbers and serial numbers.
 
Ok..decided I will hang fire see if Bumfluff's item shows up first without any problems..then will probably take a chance with them.. have looked about and the new price everywhere else seems to be circa £400+ and some more..did come across another online only type setup with a warehouse in the UK ;).. they are called wowcamera looks like a simliar set up to panamoz..
 
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The thing is with these firms, you the customer are not actually importing the item. You are buying it, and it is being sent to you from a UK warehouse, so the whole transaction is from within the UK. If they choose to circumnavigate taxes moving their stock from their Hong Kong facility to their UK operation that's on them, not you the buyer.
 
thequietman said:
Ok..decided I will hang fire see if Bumfluff's item shows up first without any problems..then will probably take a chance with them.. have looked about and the new price everywhere else seems to be circa £400+ and some more..did come across another online only type setup with a warehouse in the UK ;).. they are called wowcamera looks like a simliar set up to panamoz..
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Mine arrived today without any problems. It's a £1,400 lens and whilst I was a little apprehensive at first, after seeing how good their reputation is I figured I may as well. It's on the credit card as well for extra protection. You can also track the whole journey which is nice.

Panamoz is the only one I currently trust and they seem to maintain consistently good feedback.
 
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NewBeetle said:
The thing is with these firms, you the customer are not actually importing the item. You are buying it, and it is being sent to you from a UK warehouse, so the whole transaction is from within the UK. If they choose to circumnavigate taxes moving their stock from their Hong Kong facility to their UK operation that's on them, not you the buyer.
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That is not true and certainly isn’t how HMRC see would see it, it is your responsibility legally to insure that all tax is paid.
 
I have no idea whether this is relevant now but illegal imports in the past have been picked up by customs. A photographer arriving back from his holiday abroad returning through UK customs who take an interest in his photo equipment and find that the serials number are not on the list of duty or VAT paid. At this point they may charge at least the amount that was due or even confiscate the kit. I am sure this will not apply to items bought from these grey importers, will it?

Dave
 
Dave Canon said:
I have no idea whether this is relevant now but illegal imports in the past have been picked up by customs. A photographer arriving back from his holiday abroad returning through UK customs who take an interest in his photo equipment and find that the serials number are not on the list of duty or VAT paid. At this point they may charge at least the amount that was due or even confiscate the kit. I am sure this will not apply to items bought from these grey importers, will it?

Dave
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Serial numbers are not recorded for tax purposes so that would never happen.
 
NewBeetle said:
The thing is with these firms, you the customer are not actually importing the item. You are buying it, and it is being sent to you from a UK warehouse, so the whole transaction is from within the UK. If they choose to circumnavigate taxes moving their stock from their Hong Kong facility to their UK operation that's on them, not you the buyer.
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In which case I am sure that the company will be more than happy to furnish you with a valid VAT receipt.

Except they can't.

Because legally, the transaction was made in Honk Kong and VAT has not been paid.

Unless they get caught on importation.
 
Retune said:
You too can have an 'office' at the same address from £52 a month:

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One thought is that they might use that shell as a forwarding address to help keep their UK warehouse location secure (or hidden from HMRC).
 
rob-nikon said:
As far as I’m aware you can register any camera/lens (all may lenses and camera are registered to Sony but only one lens was covered by warranty as bought from WEX) but to make a warranty claim you need a valid receipt. I’ve always used the manufactures register process even for used kit but as a means to keep model numbers and serial numbers.
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As understand it, at least with Nikon, you can register your lenses and cameras but warranty repairs will only be carried out at at the Nikon repair facility in the country/region the serial number applies to. So if Nikon shipped 100 lenses to a HK dealer originally, regardless of where he then sells them, each of those lenses can only be repaired under warranty at a Nikon HK facility. Last time I looked this up, which was a while ago admittedly, Nikon would even refuse to repair at the customer's cost in any facility except the ones in the country of origin.
 
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